Red Flag
by thetyger
Summary: Lisbon's niece, Annabeth, turns up unexpectedly during a case. As the case becomes more involved, Annabeth is kidnapped and Lisbon has to find her before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

**Red Flag**

_**Chapter 1**_

Holly Campbell entered her apartment after a long day at work. She placed a handful of papers and a set of keys onto the kitchen bench, and made her way across the room to the bedroom she shared with her boyfriend, Scott Stevenson.

"Hey Scotty, I'm home" she called out. No reply came from the room. That surprised her. He was definitely home, and there was no way he could be asleep yet. It was only nine-thirty.

"Scott? Scott?" she called out again as she reached the door. She opened it slowly, and gasped in horror at what she saw. Her boyfriend was lying, unmoving on the bed in front of her, blood slowly trickling from the side of his head to the puddle on the floor.

* * *

><p>Lisbon and Jane made their way up the stairs to the apartment door, where they were greeted by Rigsby.<p>

"What have we got?" Lisbon asked him.

"Scott Stevenson, about 28 years old, lived here with his girlfriend, Holly Campbell. She found the body. There's a gash to the back of his head, probably made by a sharp, heavy object. Estimated time of death is around six this evening" Rigsby informed them.

Jane led the way into the apartment, with Lisbon following close behind. Once inside the bedroom, he examined the young man.

"Well, what can you see?" Lisbon asked, slightly impatient. It was late, and she longed to be at home. It had been one of those days, and she didn't want to have to put up with Jane any longer than necessary.

"Well, he was a writer of some kind, I'd say a journalist. He did drugs, but came clean quite recently. Maybe only a couple of months ago".

"That's right." Lisbon and Jane both turned to see pretty, blonde girl in her late 20s, her eyes still wet with tears.

"You must be Ms Campbell" Lisbon said, "We're sorry for you're loss. Is it possible we could ask you a couple of questions about Scott?"

"Sure, come this way, and please, call me Holly" she said as she led them into the kitchen. "Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee?" she offered.

"No, thankyou" Lisbon declined politely.

"A tea would be lovely, thankyou" Jane said as he sat down on a bar stool. Lisbon glanced at him, rolling her eyes, then taking a seat herself.

"What do want to know?" Holly asked.

"When was the last time you spoke to Scott?" Lisbon asked, as she took a seat in the stool next to Jane.

"This morning, when he was leaving for work. It would have been about eight. He had a coffee and left, as usual".

"So he wasn't acting any differently?" Lisbon confirmed, and Holly shook her head, pouring two cups of tea, and handed one to Jane. He smiled his thanks.

"Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt him, might want him dead?" Jane asked.

"Well, there was this guy who he used to buy drugs from, Jordan I think his name was. He wasn't happy when Scott told him he was gonna stop buying. Threatened him a bit, but it was nothing serious. It was more than 4 months ago."

"Ok, we'll check him out. Thankyou for your time" Lisbon said as she stood up to leave. Jane drained his tea and followed her out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

When Lisbon entered the office the next morning her mouth nearly dropped open as she saw a young teenaged girl talking to Van Pelt.

"Annabeth?" Lisbon said, shocked.

The girl turned "It's Annie" she said.

"What are you doing here? Where's your dad?" she asked, completely stunned by her nieces sudden and unannounced arrival.

"He had to go somewhere for work, but he didn't tell me what it was about. He said I should spend some time with you" she replied, and then, noticing Jane walk in behind Lisbon said "Hey, can teach me some more of your tricks?"

"Why didn't he call me?" Lisbon muttered under her breath. She hurried into her office and picked up the phone, dialling her brother's number.

Jane walked over to his couch and Annabeth followed.

"You want me to teach you how to pick locks?" he asked her, smiling childishly.

"Yeah!" she replied enthusiastically.

"You're not teaching her anything" Lisbon said as she walked back into the room.

"What did my dad say?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing, he's not answering his phone" she said, clearly annoyed.

"Didn't think he would. He hardly ever turns it on" her niece sniggered.

"Look, you can't hang around here while we're all out working, you'll just get in people's way. Plus there's nothing for you to do, and I don't know how long it's going to be before I hear from your dad. You can stay at my place; you're old enough to say there alone for a couple of hours, right?" Lisbon said.

"Yeah, I suppose so. But can't Patrick teach me a trick first? Please" she pleaded.

"Go on Lisbon, I could teach her how to read your mind. Wouldn't that be fun!" Jane agreed cheerily.

"Definitely not. It's bad enough having to deal with you" she said sternly. "Come on."

Annie looked unimpressed, but followed her aunt without complaint.

* * *

><p>"Ok, the phone's in the kitchen and you have your mobile. If you need anything just call. You can watch TV or play on the computer or whatever, just don't make a mess or go out anywhere. I'll be back as soon as I can" Lisbon said as Annie looked around her small and slightly untidy apartment.<p>

"Don't worry about me, Aunt Teresa. I'll be fine" Annabeth replied in an exasperated tone.

Lisbon's phone then started ringing, and she turned away to answer it.

"Oh, hey Cho. Jordan Jeffery, ok go check up on him, see if he has an alibi for yesterday afternoon. Take Rigsby. And tell Jane and Van Pelt I'll be back soon" she hung up and turned back to Annabeth, who was already propped up on the couch with some pillows watching TV.

"You can go, Aunt Teresa, I'll be fine" Lisbon's niece reassured her again.

"Ok then, see you later" Lisbon said.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Rigsby knocked hard on the door of a small, slightly run down house, and then turned to Cho.

"So, you think he's our guy?" he asked.

Cho shrugged silently, then turned back to face the door. Rigsby turned to, hearing someone moving around hurriedly inside.

They looked at each other, then Cho rammed the door as hard as he could with the side of his body. It opened violently and, with a loud thump, knocked over a tall, tough looking guy. He managed to brace himself with a hand, but dropped a bundle of plastic bags containing a fine, white powder.

Rigsby and Cho both pulled their guns from their holsters and directed them at the man.

"Hands up, Jeffery" Cho said calmly, "we're not here about the drugs, so co-operate".

"Where were you yesterday afternoon?" Rigsby asked.

The man did not reply, he just stared at the two agents. He seemed unfazed by their weapons, and uninterested in their questions.

"Do you know Scott Stevenson?" Cho demanded.

He remained silent.

"Fine, we can do this the hard way if that's what you want. You're under arrest. Put your hands on your head" Rigsby announced. He then handcuffed Jordan and led him out of the house.

* * *

><p>"So, Jordan Jeffery. Where were you yesterday afternoon?" Lisbon repeated the question Cho had asked early, but didn't receive any better result.<p>

"I'm not saying anything without a lawyer" Jordan replied stubbornly, and Lisbon was doubtful he would change his mind, so she left the room, frustrated.

Van Pelt met her outside the interrogation room. "His lawyer will be here in around 20 minutes" Van Pelt informed her.

"Alright, thanks. Do you know where Jane is?" Lisbon asked.

"I think he's upstairs in the attic" Van Pelt replied.

Lisbon climbed the stairs and knocked, before letting herself in. Jane was looking out of the window, but turned as Lisbon came in.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Thinking" he replied simply, and then smiled. "Are you here to tell me I was right about Jordan?"

"No, he won't talk without a lawyer. This day is just getting more and more frustrating" Lisbon complained.

"Come on, cheer up" he said unsympathetically. Lisbon's phone started ringing, and she groaned as she pulled it out of her pocket and answered.

"Agent Lisbon. It's Holly. Can you please come over here" Lisbon was surprised by the panic in her voice.

"Calm down Holly. Are you alright, what's wrong?" she asked. Jane looked at her questioningly, but she ignored him.

"I keep getting these threatening texts. I don't know who they're from" she answered, slightly calmer this time.

"Ok Holly, I'll be there as soon as I can" Lisbon reassured her. She hung up and turned to Jane.

"Come on" she ordered, without explaining anything. He followed without question, though when she turned her back he rolled his eyes at her bad mood.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

"Hi Holly" Lisbon smiled comfortingly as Holly let her and Jane into her apartment.

"Hey, come in" she said as she led Jane and Lisbon over to her couch, trying to sound calm, but not succeeding.

They took a seat as Holly walked across to the kitchen table, picked up her mobile phone and handed it to Lisbon. Jane leant over her shoulder as she flicked through the messages.

As they were scrolling down and reading some of the threatening messages, a new message appeared on the screen with a _ping_.

_If you don't want to end up like your boyfriend, you better give me my money. _

_I'll tell you what to do later tonight._

_No police, or else they'll be sorry._

"No police…well it's a bit late for that now" Jane commented unnecessarily.

Holly came over and Lisbon showed her the new message.

"What does it mean 'or they'll be sorry'?" she asked.

"Don't know. Hopefully we won't have to find out" Lisbon replied. She placed the phone on the coffee table in front of her.

"The message says 'give me _my _money'. Was there anyone you or Scott owed money too?" Lisbon asked.

"Nobody I can think of" Holly told her.

"Yes there is" Jane said certainly.

Holly and Lisbon both looked at him in surprise.

"A name just popped into you head. Who's was it?" Jane urged.

"Well, there was this girl Scott used to date. He mentioned once that she was convinced he borrowed money from her, but he said he never did. That was over a year ago now though. I don't see why she would suddenly be after it".

"How much was it?" Jane inquired.

"Well, he said he borrowed nothing, but she was asking for half a million dollars. I was sure he'd never borrow that much, what would he use it for, so I just believed him."

"Half a million dollars is quite a lot of money, enough to kill over. Do you remember the girl's name?" Lisbon asked.

"Umm, yes it was… Nina. Nina Barnett" Holly answered, "I don't know anything else about her though. I never actually met her".

"We'll find her, Holly" Lisbon reassured her confidently.

"What about the threats?" the concern was obvious on her face.

"I pretty sure you don't need to worry about them. That message seemed to direct the threats at us, so you should be perfectly safe" he said cheerily.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

Jane and Lisbon returned back to CBI to find Jordan's lawyer had arrived. He was a middle aged man with greying hair and a confident smile that irritated Lisbon, though she couldn't quite work out why.

He was talking to his client when Cho entered the room.

"Hello, I'm Mr Gibson. My client is willing to tell you what he knows about Scott, in return for your people dropping the drugs charge."

"Your client is a suspect in a murder investigation. It's in his best interests to tell us what he knows. We're not making any deals here" Cho told him.

Gibson whispered something to Jordan, who then turned back to Cho.

"Alright, look. Scott used to buy drugs from me. A couple of months ago he called me, said he was gonna stop buying. I was pissed off, ya know, coz I was losing some good money. But he swore he wouldn't tip off the cops about my dealing as long as I left him alone, so I agreed. I haven't spoken to him since".

"But it would make your life a whole lot easier if he was dead, you wouldn't have to worry about him changing his mind about going to the police" Cho suggested.

"Yeah, sure, I don't have to worry about him now he's dead. But I didn't kill him, alright" Jordan practically spat.

Cho turned to the lawyer, stony faced.

"So my client is free to go" Gibson said.

"No, he'll be charged with possession and dealing" Cho replied, stony faced, before leaving the room.

The door swung shut behind him and he turned to see Lisbon waiting for him.

"We have a new suspect. Scott's ex thinks he owes her money. Name's Nina Barnett. Van Pelt and Rigsby are looking her up now" Lisbon updated him as they walked over to Rigsby's desk.

"I was right, wasn't I" Jane called from his couch. Lisbon rolled her eyes, and Rigsby just managed to hold back laughter.

"I think I've found something boss" Van Pelt called across the room. "Nina Barnett is currently dating a guy called Morris Reid. He's got quite a long record, including attempted murder, assault, dealing and some other more minor offences".

Lisbon came over and looked at the screen.

"Cho, see if you can track down either Reid or Barnett" Lisbon said.

"Ahh…, Lisbon" she turned to see Wainwright standing in the doorway.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked cautiously.

"Can't you just tell me here?" she said, not noticing the tone in his voice.

"Umm, ok. Someone's broken into your apartment…"

"What!" she cried, irritated. "This day just gets worse and worse. What did they take?"

"Well, I told the cops to wait until you got there" he replied.

"Thanks" she said, grateful that a crowd of complete strangers wouldn't be rummaging around her apartment".

Wainwright left hurriedly.

"Umm… Lisbon" Jane said.

"What now?" she asked frustrated. Why was today going so badly?

"Wasn't Annie at your apartment?" he answered, clearly worried.

There was a moment of stillness as Jane's comment sank it.

"Oh no" she gasped. She had been so irritated she had completely forgotten about her niece. She hurried out of the office.

Her team looked at each other, then followed.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

The door was wide open, and Lisbon ran in, gun drawn but not expecting to find anyone inside.

"Annie!" she called anxiously, "Annabeth, are you here?"

Jane then entered, followed by the rest of the serious crimes unit.

The apartment looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. A coffee table overturned, lamp smashed and assorted belongings scattered from one side of the room to another.

Lisbon and her team proceeded to search every room, but they were unable to find Annabeth. Lisbon was only just managing to hold back tears.

"Jane, what do you think? Can you tell anything from what's here?" Van Pelt asked hopefully.

"Well, there was some sort of a struggle" he said, but then, noticing Lisbon's horrified expression, continued "she wasn't hurt though, not from what I can see. Her attackers would have kidnapped her for a ransom or to bargain with, so they won't want to harm her, at least not fatally".

Lisbon still looked horrified, and the rest of the team looked worried as well. They were all fond of Annabeth, and it was unnerving seeing their usually calm and confident boss so panicked.

"Do you think this has something to do with the case?" Rigsby asked.

"The texts Holly received said that if the police got involved, _they_ would pay. Do you think this is what they meant?" Cho suggested.

"It seems likely" Jane replied.

"Well, do you have any idea who it is? The attacker? Wait, you said attackers, do you think there's more than one?" Lisbon asked.

"Yes, it's more than one. Annabeth's a tough kid, I think she might have been able to overpower one person, or at least injure them. But I'm almost certain no one was injured, so there must have been at least two" Jane said.

"I think Morris Reid might be behind this. He's a dealer, and probably has people working for him, so that would explain the multiple attackers. He also seems like the kind of person who would bribe the police like this" Cho agreed.

"Alright, so if it is him, what should we do?" Lisbon asked.

"Well, he'll probably contact you if he wants to bribe us. So we just have to wait" he replied simply.

And so they waited.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

Nearly two hours later, Lisbon's phone, which was sitting on her kitchen table, began to ring. Rigsby started awake from his position on the couch. The rest of the team, who had been sitting round the table patiently, watching Jane sip his tea, stared at Lisbon as she picked up the phone.

"Hello" she answered, her voice shaking slightly, lacking its usual confidence. She pressed speaker, and placed the phone back in the centre of the table so her colleagues could hear.

"Agent Lisbon" said a gruff, muffled voice, clearly being disguised.

"This is Agent Lisbon. What do you want?" she asked.

"We have your niece. If you want her back, you must drop your case"

Jane smiled slightly at the mention of 'we'.

"You want us to drop the case on Scott Stevenson's murder?" Lisbon confirmed.

"Yes".

"How do we know you really have her? You could just be bluffing" Jane demanded, ignoring Lisbon's shocked glare for him to shut up.

"Who's that?" the voice demanded back.

"Oh, I'm Patrick Jane, I work with Agent Lisbon and I'm good friends with Annie. So, do you have her or are you just playing with us?"

"She's here; I'll prove it to you. Hey kid, talk to your aunty. Talk to her now".

Silence followed. Lisbon stared at the phone, her team staring at her.

"Ah, you're niece is tough. She doesn't want to put you in danger, or ruin your case. She'll regret it though" the voice crackled through the receiver, followed by a soft but strong thump, then another.

It took them a few seconds to work out what the strange sound was, but realisation hit them when a gasp of pain followed one of the louder thumps.

"Stop, stop, I believe you. We'll drop the case, just stop hurting her" Lisbon practically screamed into the phone.

The thumping stopped, and the voice returned.

"Ok, if you want Annabeth returned to you alive do exactly what I say. You need to stop investigating Scott Stevenson's murder, and make sure no one else investigates it either".

"But we can't do that. The AG won't just let a case be dropped" said Lisbon despairingly.

"Well then, are you declining my offer?"

Complete silence. Nobody knew what to say.

"I'll take that as a yes. Well then, I have no choice".

There was a clunk as the phone was dropped lightly, followed by a loud shot and a scream of agony.

Rigsby nearly fell of the couch, and Van Pelt was actually shaking. Lisbon buried her head in her hands.

"If you don't drop the case within 24 hours, the next shot will a fatal".

The line went dead.

The whole team just sat in complete shock, tears streaking down Lisbon's face.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

Wainwright was standing by the couch, Jane was lying on it. Grace was sitting by her desk, Rigsby, Cho and Lisbon sitting at the table. Lisbon still had tears in her eyes, but she was trying to stay calm. Crying hysterically wouldn't help Annie, although it was exactly what she felt like doing. But she managed to hold herself together.

"Ok, we have to work out where the kidnappers are holding Annabeth" Wainwright announced.

"How can we do that when we don't know who the kidnappers are?" Van Pelt asked miserably. None of the team liked what was going on, but Grace seemed to be most effected, apart from Lisbon.

"But we do know who the kidnappers are. Or at least one of them" Jane reassured her.

"You still think its Reid?" Rigsby asked.

"Reid? Who's Reid?" Wainwright queried.

"Morris Reid. He's dating Scott Stevenson's ex. Pretty long record, and the ex believes Stevenson owes her half a million bucks. He _is_ a likely suspect" Lisbon agreed, knowing Jane's guesses deserved some credit. A lot of credit actually.

"Alright then, Van Pelt, can you see if you can track down this Reid guy" Wainwright ordered.

She typed hurriedly into her computer, with Wainwright watching over her shoulder.

"Here, Reid's registered as living at 43 Kingston Road"

"Alright, let's go check it out" Wainwright said, and led the team out of the office.

* * *

><p>Jane waited outside, behind a tree, while everyone else pulled on their bullet-proof vests and made their way towards the house.<p>

Lisbon stood at the door, gun drawn. Wainwright and Van Pelt stood nearby, Rigsby and Cho went around the side to cover the back door.

"Are you in position?" Lisbon asked over the radio attached to her vest.

"Yep, ready" Rigsby replied.

"Ok, we're going in. On three. One, two, three!" Lisbon called, slamming into the door with all her might.

The door swung open violently, nearly coming off its hinges completely. There was another loud smash as Cho did the same to the back door, and the agents entered the house.

"Annabeth? Annie, are you here?" Lisbon called, running from room to room.

The house was relatively small, though there were many small, cupboard-like rooms.

"Boss, over here!" Rigsby called from the far end of the house.

Lisbon followed his voice to a small, plain bedroom. She breathed a sign of relief. Annie was lying on the bed, clutching her clearly injured leg, but alive. She sat up slowly. Lisbon ran across to her and hugged her tightly.

Van Pelt entered the room, followed by Wainwright.

"Lisbon, we've checked the whole property. Reid's not here" Wainwright informed her.

"I'll call an ambulance for Annabeth" Van Pelt said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"Thanks" Lisbon replied, though she wasn't really listening. She was still too relieve her niece was alive to think about anything else.

* * *

><p>The next day, Reid and his two accomplices had been found hiding out in an abandoned shed. They had been arrested, and with a little help from Cho, Reid confessed to both Annie's kidnapping and Scott Stevenson's murder<p>

Lisbon was sitting by Annie's bedside at the hospital when the door was flung open, and a flushed looking Tommy ran in.

"Oh my god Reece, is Annie alright?" he asked as he stared at his daughter fast asleep in the hospital bed, the remorse clear on his face.

Lisbon couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He blamed himself for everything that had happened, and any annoyance she had for him dumping Annie on her with no notice evaporated immediately.

"I'm so sorry Reece" he began, but was cut short as her arms tightened around him in a hug.

"It's ok Tommy, she's going to be ok" Teresa comforted him, tear welling up in her eyes.

Jane smiled as he walked away from the window where the brother and sister embraced, and the girl slept. Her innocent, peaceful face reminded him a little of Charlotte. His smile faded as he thought of his daughter, and then his wife. His family. Lisbon really didn't know how lucky she was.

**The End**


End file.
